New Delhi: Chaos reigned on the streets of Dhaka last Friday and Saturday as tens of thousands of protesters rallied for the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and for a caretaker government to be formed ahead of the general elections, expected to be held in January 2024.
The demonstrators, primarily supporters of the Khaleda Zia-led opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), voiced numerous grievances. These included the Awami League government’s failure to control rising living costs and fuel prices, concerns about the muzzling of dissent, and the alleged impossibility of conducting “free and fair” polls under Sheikh Hasina’s leadership.
Saturday, a BNP-led protest in Dhaka’s Naya Paltan took a violent turn. After police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to remove protesters blocking numerous key roads in the capital, clashes broke out across the city.
A police vehicle and three public buses were set on fire and several private cars were vandalised. The police claimed 20 officers were also injured. The BNP, on the other hand, alleged that dozens of its supporters were injured amidst the conflict with law enforcement.
According to reports, Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested over 90 opposition supporters, but BNP leaders claim the number exceeds 1,000. Sunday, the police filed 11 cases against BNP leaders on allegations including unlawful assembly, attacking police with the intent to kill, and torching vehicles.
Meanwhile, the BNP has accused the “autocratic” Sheikh Hasina dispensation of cracking down on anti-government protests and using undemocratic means to stay in power.
This allegation is not a new one. Last December, for instance, the Dhaka police arrested two top BNP leaders, including party secretary Mirza Alamgir, ahead of another large rally to call for Sheikh Hasina’s resignation.
Then, on 17 July this year, Ashraful ‘Hero’ Alom, an independent candidate contesting in a parliamentary by-election, was allegedly assaulted in a polling booth by Awami League supporters.
After this incident, 13 envoys— including from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, and Denmark— issued a joint statement warning that “violence has no place in the democratic process”. The statement also said that “everyone involved in the upcoming elections should ensure that they are free, fair, and peaceful.”
The Bangladesh foreign ministry has condemned the statement by “foreign powers” and maintained that the Awami League government is committed to democracy. However, western criticism has been mounting over the state of democracy in Bangladesh.
In May, for example, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of potential visa restrictions for those undermining the voting process.
In both the 2014 and 2018 general elections in Bangladesh, there were accusations of vote-rigging and opposition parties being targeted, both charges denied by the Awami League government, in power for three consecutive terms since 2009.
In the last general elections, the Awami League won by a landslide, while main opposition parties BNP and Jatiya Party remained barely in the reckoning.
Here’s a look at the core reasons behind the BNP-led anti-government protests in Bangladesh.
What are core demands of BNP?
BNP leaders have been holding nationwide anti-government protests since December last year against PM Hasina’s allegedly draconian policies and declining economic growth under her government.
During this period, the BNP announced a 10-point charter of demands. These included the government’s resignation, the dissolution of Parliament, and the formation of a new election commission under a caretaker government to ensure free and fair elections.
Additionally, the BNP demanded that “black laws” such as the Digital Security Act, 2018, and Anti-Terrorism Act, 2009— allegedly used to repress opposition—should be revoked, freedom of speech should be ensured, and elections should be held using ballot papers instead of EVMs.
Another key demand included scrapping the criminal convictions against opposition activists and leaders, including BNP chairperson and former PM Khaleda Zia. Considered the arch-nemesis of Sheikh Hasina, Zia was convicted in two cases of corruption in 2018.
The BNP’s 10-point agenda also called for revoking price hikes in utilities such as electricity and water, and for making essential commodities more affordable for ordinary citizens.
Economic challenges & corruption
Over the last few years, Bangladesh has largely been viewed as an economic success story. With the rise of its garment manufacturing sector, improved healthcare, and education, it features among the ranks of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
According to the World Bank, its per capita GDP increased from $134 in 1971 to $2,503 in 2021, and extreme poverty went from 34 per cent in 2000 to 13 per cent in 2016
However, since the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bangladesh, like other South Asian countries, has faced rising living costs and fuel prices.
In August 2022, protests erupted across the country after the Awami League government hiked fuel prices by 50 per cent. The fuel price hike also led to higher inflation and restricted electricity, which impacted industries and slowed down economic growth.
To offset these economic shocks, Bangladesh sought multiple loans over the past year.
In January this year, the International Monetary Fund approved a $ 4.7 billion bailout package for Bangladesh to help the country cope with rising inflation as well as plummeting foreign reserves.
Bangladesh also reportedly sought $1 billion each from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2022 to bolster its foreign exchange reserves.
According to the ADB, Bangladesh’s GDP growth is predicted to decelerate from 7.1 per cent in the last fiscal year to 5.3 per cent in fiscal year 2023-2024. Inflation is expected to rise to 8.7 per cent in the same period.
On the upside, the current account deficit is projected to decrease from 4.1 per cent of GDP in FY2022 to 1.6 per cent in FY2023 “as imports loosen and remittances grow”, says the ADB forecast. It warns, however, that a potential risk to this “growth projection” is a possible economic slowdown in Bangladesh’s major export destinations caused by global uncertainty and prolonged political tensions.
Another long-standing issue in the country is perceived corruption among public officials. Last year, Bangladesh was ranked the 12th most corrupt country among the 180 countries in the Global Corruption Perception Index 2022. It scored 25 out of 100 on perceived corruption, only a point more than Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. On this index, 0 means ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 means ‘very clean’.
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Democratic backsliding?
Since coming to power in 2009, the Awami League government has been repeatedly accused of cracking down on dissent in the country in various ways. This includes laws like the Digital Security Act, which has reportedly been used to silence critics, arrests of opposition leaders, and forceful responses to protests, including in 2021, when four people were killed during a demonstration against Indian PM Narendra Modi’s visit.
Former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, the leader of the BNP, has been under house arrest since 2020, following a 17-year jail sentence for alleged abuse of power in granting favours to her trusts, the Zia Orphanage Trust, and Zia Charitable Trust. The opposition party claims that Zia’s conviction was politically motivated.
Government security forces, particularly the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), have been accused of arresting thousands of opposition activists, with hundreds reportedly killed in extrajudicial encounters and many leaders disappearing.
In response to alleged human rights violations, the US has sanctioned the RAB and seven of its senior officers. It has also restricted visas for Bangladeshi citizens believed to hinder democratic elections.
Additionally, the Sheikh Hasina government has been accused of manipulating democratic institutions such as the Supreme Court to advance its agenda.
An example includes the revocation of a 15-year-old constitutional provision allowing a caretaker government to oversee new parliamentary elections.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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